A blog entirely dedicated to Blancpain timepieces
Today we are in for a real treat since this article does not cover one specific watch but instead an extremely rare set of eight timepieces, each crafted in a 38mm platinum case and featuring a black dial, each representing signature Blancpain complications, from Ultra-Plat to Minute Repeater. This set was called Apotheosis Temporis, it was introduced in 2005 and only eight of these sets were made.
I had the opportunity to get up close and personal with the three new black ceramic Fifty Fathoms Bathyscaphe timepieces introduced just a few days ago. So here are some impressions of the Bathyscaphe black ceramic ref 5000 with blue dial/black bezel and with green dial/bezel as well as the Bathyscaphe Chronographe Flyback with blue dial and black bezel.
Blancpain created two new versions of the Air Command in grade 23 titanium, offering a different and exciting look. The combination of a military green dial and a black ceramic bezel works very well, both in the 42.5mm AC02-12B53-63 and the 36mm AC03-12B53-63. So let’s take a closer look at these two limited editions available as the modern reincarnation of an iconic aviation watch.
The Blancpain 2100/Leman series has been discontinued for a few years and will likely not come back in any similar form. I think it might be worthwhile to share some basic thoughts on collecting this broad range of timepieces with the main source being the pre-owned market. Let’s get into this first subject in a series of posts about collecting and hopefully valuable information.
Today I experiment with a new style of blog essay and I hope you enjoy it as much as my other style blog posts. In this essay I capture a friend’s private collection of modern Fifty Fathoms Bathyscaphe timepieces and the thematic approach of the collector. Let’s dive into these magnificent seven, showcasing a bit of the variety the Bathyscaphe line offers.
A few months ago Blancpain launched two new Bathyscaphe 5054 in titanium and red gold, now those materials are finding their way to the Bathyscaphe Chronographe Flyback 5200. Let‘s take a close look at these two novelties.
Today let’s go back almost 30 years into the early 1990s. Just prior to the launch of various model lines with more contemporary case sizes, the Quantieme Perpetuel Chronographe 5585 was one of the last references building on the aesthetics defined by the famous six masterpieces. Courtesy of a fellow enthusiast I have the pleasure to feature this timepiece, so let’s get up close and personal with it.
A few weeks ago Blancpain introduced the smaller 36.2mm version of the Air Command in two versions, titanium and red gold, each with a blue dial and bezel. Let‘s explore these two new references AC03-12B40 and AC03-36B40 in all their details.
During the first decade of the 2000s Blancpain issued annual special editions for the Monaco Yacht Show. Having started with various Leman and ending with 45mm Fifty Fathoms 5085F based editions, the 2203 and 2004 editions had been based on the Trilogy Air Command. Let’s take a closer look at these in two different sizes.
Introduced in 2019 with the AC01 limited edition, the collection Air Command now quickly expands. Let’s take a first look at the brand new 36.2mm Air Command AC03, which was launched in two versions today.
A designated blog post on this timepiece is long overdue: the iconic Flyback 2185F in the stainless steel version on the fabulous X-71 bracelet. Let’s get up close and personal with a timepiece that is just as beautiful today as it was more than a quarter century ago.
Welcome to the first blog post of 2022, I hope you had a good start into the new year. To kick off 2022 in style, I had the opportunity to capture a timepiece from past collections, and what a marvel it is! Let’s take a very close look at the Leman Chronographe Flyback Quantieme Perpetuel in red gold, reference 2685F-3630-53B.
Blancpain have turned the 2019 commemorative timepiece AC01 into a full collection with two new versions of the Air Command in brushed titanium and brushed red gold, both with a blue dial and ceramic bezel. During a recent Boutique visit in Munich I had the chance to see both, so let’s get up close with the two novelties and explore a plentiful of details.
When it comes to discussing watches in blogs or fora, the segment of highly sophisticated mechanical timepieces for ladies often falls short. That’s an unfortunate fact, especially in the case of Blancpain who have an even longer tradition of mechanical watches for women than of the popular dive watches. So, let’s take a look at three beautiful examples from three decades.
The black ceramic Fifty Fathoms Bathyscaphe Chronographe 5200-0130-B52A is a very successful model in the Blancpain catalogue since it was introduced 6 years ago. Let’s get up close and personal with this exceptional timepiece.
I have done two previous reports on the Blancpain Air Command AC01-1130-63A at the time it was introduced in 2019. Now that this amazing timepiece is part of my collection, let’s get up close and personal with it from all angles, albeit personalized with different straps than it comes with originally from the Manufacture.
Today we will take a closer look at one of Blancpain‘s signature timepieces, the 38mm Flyback Chronograph 2185F from the 1990s. Actually, we will explore it in it‘s rare titanium version 2185F-1230A-55B.
For all of you who liked the Bathyscaphe Mokarran but had no chance to get hold of one of the 50 specimen, here’s your relief: the new Bathyscaphe Chronographe Flyback Ceramic reference 5200-0153-52A/NABA with a stunning green dial as a regular collection model. Let’s take a closer look.
Today I invite you to a close encounter with one of Blancpain’s modern signature timepieces, the Fifty Fathoms Bathyscaphe Chronographe Flyback reference 5200. Let’s start this long overdue introduction with a short summary outlining what we are dealing with in one sentence…
A little more than 15 years ago Blancpain introduced an utterly beautiful timepiece in the Villeret line: the Villeret Chronographe Monopoussoir reference 6185-1546-55 with its beautiful Havana dial. Now that we get closer with it, you will see the many shades of this dial, depending strongly on the light conditions (direct/indirect daylight, direct sun /shade, artificial LED light) to provide the best possible idea of this timepiece.
This third part of my overview on the Blancpain Leman series will concentrate on the Limited Editions and the Haute Horlogerie pieces. Creating this overview took a bit longer than I (and maybe you) expected, hopefully you will find the information provided useful nonetheless.
This Blancpain novelty left me speechless the moment I encountered it for the very first time in early May just prior to Time to Move. Now I had the chance to spend two days with the prototype Air Command and my first excitement about this exceptional timepiece has actually been deepened.
Building on the brand’s unrivaled heritage as a manufacturer of professional diving watches, Blancpain CEO Marc A. Hayek has initiated a remarkable initiative to support the preservation of the underwater world, called Blancpain Ocean Commitment. Since 2014 the Manufacture has released dedicated limited edition timepieces on a biannual basis, which shall be featured in this report.
I met KISS drummer and passionate watch collector Eric Singer* in Berlin on June 4, 2019 prior to his concert at the Waldbuehne and we had an hour long conversation, so you need to have some time reading through this. We were joined by an old friend of Eric and a representative of Blancpain who brought the prototypes of the new Air Command and Barakuda for Eric to see them. I hope you enjoy the conversation.
With the new millennium Blancpain decided to give their sporty yet elegant timepieces a new name: from now on they were called Leman series. And this change came along with a remarkable makeover of the collection, offering a broad variety of 40mm timepieces.
Let me try to provide a comprehensive overview on what has been undoubtedly one of the most important watch families made by Blancpain, the Leman series. The overview is split in three parts, we start with the first collection introduced in the mid 1990s under the name 2100 and characterized by a variety of 38mm timepieces.
Now that the dust has settled and I was able to digest what I have seen during my photo session with the Blancpain novelties and encountered in the first days after the launch on May 17 with writing my reports and following worldwide online coverage, it’s time to share my personal conclusions on the Blancpain Time to Move presentation.
Let’s get closer to what may very well be the superstar among the new Blancpain timepieces, the new Air Command ref AC01-1130-63A, a 42,5mm stainless steel no date aviation chronograph based on the iconic original from 1957.
Continue reading “A legend is reborn… the new Blancpain Air Command” →
It’s my utmost pleasure to provide you with a first quick overview on the 2019 Blancpain novelties to satisfy your curiosity. Following this short post, a series of reports dedicated to the individual pieces will be released in the next days, each with real life hands-on photos and the official Blancpain press releases.
Continue reading “The 2019 Blancpain novelties at a glance” →
With the launch of the Fifty Fathoms Bathyscaphe in 2013 alongside the 60th anniversary of the legendary dive watch, Blancpain‘s main purpose may have been to offer a more tool watch like alternative to the in all aspects luxurious reference 5015. The recent evolution of the Bathyscaphe series however has outgrown it’s dive watch history and made it almost a successor to the discontinued Leman series – let me explain why.
Launched in 1996 and discontinued in 2003, the Blancpain Trilogy series was the first attempt by the Manufacture since it’s resurrection to revitalize the strong heritage from the 1950s that was initiated by the first professional diving watch Fifty Fathoms and the very rare chronograph Air Command.
I remember vividly my excitement when I saw the first ever Blancpain Leman watch with the new case diameter of 40mm in a catalogue 2004: the Flyback Split Second reference 2086. The watch immediately resonated with me, and for a few years to come I was not even aware of this special and extremely limited version of the Flyback Split Second, called A’Toute Vitesse.
Continue reading “Flashback: Leman Flyback Split Second A’Toute Vitesse from 2005” →
Yesterday the well known retailer Bucherer released a new timepiece belonging to their Blue Editions collection, which already features watches by Vacheron Constantin, IWC, Piaget, Audemars Piguet, Tudor and others. This time it is a collaboration between Bucherer and Blancpain: the Blancpain Bathyscaphe Bucherer Blue Edition.
Thanks to Bucherer Hamburg and Blancpain Germany I had the opportunity to view the watch just hours after official release and of course take a lot of photos to share with you.
Continue reading “The new Blancpain Bathyscaphe Bucherer Blue Edition” →
Alongside the 24h of Spa Franchorchamps Blancpain not only had the Basel novelties on display, but also numerous timepieces that carry a motorsport inspired design, predominantly in the L’Evolution series. Two of those I had the pleasure to take photos of, thanks to the Blancpain Boutique in Munich.
Continue reading “Two motorsports inspired L’Evolution timepieces” →
“Blancpain perpetuates its historical links with Switzerland’s oldest watchmaking tradition by making its timepieces at Le Brassus and Le Sentier, respectively a village and a hamlet in the Joux Valley. This region of the Waldensian Jura is imbued with the soul of the watchmaker’s art. Clockmaking began here in about 1740, and its workshops are still the source of 90% of the complications of Swiss mechanical watchmaking” (Blancpain website).
Continue reading “A visit to Blancpain in the Vallée de Joux” →
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